In Hispanic culture, it is common that when you get baptized you either get a cross or Virgen de Guadalupe necklace. When I got baptized, I was 5 years old. My god parents put my Virgen de Guadalupe necklace on, and I had a party to celebrate that I had gotten closer to God. As the clumsy 5-year-old I was I broke the necklace chain and my parents decided that I was too immature and clumsy to wear it all the time, so I stopped wearing it. As I got older, I saw that a lot of my family was wearing their necklaces, I begged my mom to let me start wearing it again. She agreed to let me start wearing it again, but I could only wear it on the weekend. And I never took it off again, well only to shower because I’m scared to drop it down the drain. Now I’m 16 and I wear my necklace almost every day because when I wear it I feel protected.

– JM

Relationship:  Child of im/migrant Child of im/migrant